Off-the-shelf AI tools cover work that happens inside one app, integration connects a model to your own systems and rules, and custom AI development with agents pays off when a workflow crosses several systems and needs a decision at each step. With Praxen, an integration pilot costs £2,900 (£2,030 with the launch offer) and takes 2–4 weeks, and custom solutions start at £6,500 (£4,550) and take from 4 weeks. Prices exclude VAT.
Buy, connect or build
Most AI solutions for business fall into three groups. The right one depends on where the work happens and whose rules it follows, and many companies end up using all three for different tasks.
| Option | What it is | Fits when | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Off-the-shelf tool | A subscription product, such as ChatGPT, Microsoft 365 Copilot or the AI features in HubSpot, Zendesk or Xero | The task starts and ends inside one app | Drafting a proposal in Word |
| Integration | An off-the-shelf model connected to your systems through their APIs, with your rules and approval steps | Information has to move between systems | A supplier email read and entered into the CRM |
| Custom agents | Software built around your process that reads, checks and drafts across several systems | The workflow has several decisions and rules of your own | An order email checked against stock and credit terms, then a confirmation drafted |
When an existing tool is enough
Start here. If one of these describes the task, the money is better spent on licences and on teaching people to use them well.
- The work happens inside one application, such as drafting in Word or summarising a Teams meeting.
- The person who asks for the output is the person who uses it, so nothing has to be copied into another system.
- Your current software already has an AI feature for the task. Check what your HubSpot, Zendesk or Xero plan includes before buying anything new.
- The task comes up a few times a week. Low volumes rarely repay a build.
When AI integration is needed
Integration is the middle route and often the first project a business needs. The model is still an off-the-shelf one from a major provider. What gets added is the connection to your systems, the rules it must follow and a log of what it did. These are the usual signs:
- Someone copies what an AI tool produced into another system by hand.
- The task needs your own data: price lists, policies, customer or supplier records.
- An email, PDF or call has to end up as a record in a CRM, helpdesk or accounting package.
- You need an approval step and a record of who approved what.
When custom agents pay off
A custom build costs more up front and earns it back only under certain conditions. The strongest cases usually share most of these features:
- The workflow crosses three or more systems and has several decision points, for example reading an order, checking stock and credit terms, then drafting a confirmation.
- The rules are specific to your business, such as pricing tiers, routing by region or terms agreed with key customers.
- Volume is high enough that minutes per case add up to days each month.
- The process is settled. If it changes every quarter, tidy the process before automating it.
- No product on the market covers it without forcing changes to how you work.
12-month cost: an illustrative comparison
The figures below are illustrative and describe one workflow, such as supplier and customer emails, for a team of ten. The off-the-shelf line assumes licences at £30 per user a month; vendor prices vary and change, so check the current ones. Our own prices are shown at the launch offer. The integration and agent options include ongoing care and an estimate for AI usage, which the providers bill at cost. Integration and agents run through the providers’ APIs, so they need no extra seats.
On these assumptions the tool is the cheapest option, and people still copy every result into the CRM by hand. If that copying takes 20 hours a month at £25 an hour, it costs £6,000 over the year, more than the gap between the first two options.
Risks to weigh before you choose
- Lock-in: a tool that keeps your prompts, documents and history in its own format is hard to leave. Ask how to export them before you sign. For custom work, the code, prompts and documentation should sit in your own accounts.
- Data: check where the vendor stores your information, whether it may use it to train models and what the contract says. Enterprise APIs and business plans from the main providers exclude training by default; free consumer plans can differ.
- Maintenance: the vendor maintains an off-the-shelf tool on its own schedule. Integrations and agents need someone to update rules and connections when your systems, prices or policies change.
- Model changes: providers retire model versions on their own timetable. A build that can move to a newer model through a settings change, then rerun its test set, ages well.
- Cost creep: per-user licences grow with headcount and usage grows with volume. Model both for the coming year before you commit.
How to decide for one workflow
- Write the workflow down step by step, with the system each step touches.
- Check what your current software plans already include, and try it on ten real cases.
- If people still retype or copy the output, price an integration.
- If the workflow needs judgement across several systems, price a custom build as well and compare the 12-month totals with the hours involved.
- Choose the cheapest option that removes the retyping, then measure it for a month before going further.